Into the Fray
by BandGeekDrummer
Summary: A CAPTAIN AMERICA: TWS RE-WRITE AND NUMBER 2 IN MY SERIES. Agent Gunnar Wells is a half Asgardian shifter who can turn into a dog at will and is Captain America's partner. Can be read as a stand alone but reading the first one is encouraged. Rated T for swearing and mild violence. Friendship only and established Pepperoni. Better summery inside! *on hiatus as of 10/27*
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Finally putting this story up! I'm so excited.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Marvel and these characters except for Gunnar. The name of the story is based on the title of one of the songs in the WS soundtrack.

**Facts to know before reading:**

First story: SHIFTER

Agent Gunnar Wells is a 22 year old half human, half Asgardian warg. He shifts into a chocolate colored German shepherd when he pleases and can still understand conversation, but he can't talk when in dog form. He is Captain America's partner and buddy. He's not quite as tall and bulky as Steve and Thor, but he's agile. When he's in dog form, he can't always control his behavior and likes when they throw balls and being around his teammates. Agent Coulson found him as a puppy and his two handlers died before he was assigned to Steve. This starts at the beginning of Captain America Winter Soldier, and Steve is in Washington D.C. with Natasha and Gunnar is on the helicarrier. They have been split up for now.

I took pieces from Captain America to keep the timeline flowing correctly. The transcription is not perfect and wasn't supposed to be. There are two story lines that go back and forth, but don't worry, they will eventually join and it will be awesome!

Here we go!

Agent Gunnar Wells walked through the hallway of the helicarrier towards a training room. Since Steve was in Washington with Natasha, he had become Hill's personal slave. Deemed temporarily unfit for field duty since his last encounter with Coulson he was stuck pushing papers and running errands for the deputy director. He did what he was supposed to do without any grumbling out loud. He stifled all of the unique colorful comments and kept them to himself.

He hadn't been to the tower in New York in several weeks. He hadn't talked to Tony, Clint and Bruce since he left and he hadn't talked to Steve or Natasha since they left for the capital. Although he was glad to be doing something, he was still unhappy over what that something was. Occasionally he would let his dog side out to run and get some energy out but he mostly focused on getting on Hill's good side so he could go back to regular duty. Yet, as much as he wanted to go on a mission, he couldn't help but remember Steve wouldn't be with him.

Those thoughts kept him up at night. He was trying to conceive any possible real reason as to why they had gotten split up. There had to be a bigger reason than the pathetic reason Coulson had given him.

The next morning:

Gunnar groaned slightly as his alarm went off. He stretched out across his bunk while kicking the covers off.

"So you've been quiet. Nobody has heard from you in the last couple months. Why?" Clint said. He was sitting in a chair across the dark room.

"Jesus Clint! Don't you have more important things to do rather than watch people sleep in the dark?" Gunnar said breathing hard.

"I thought you had super senses and didn't scare easily." Clint scoffed.

"You know damn well both you and Natasha have gotten good at sneaking around me. I had a late night. Hill's been a nightmare." Gunnar said exhaustedly as he sat up.

"Are you going to answer my question? How come you have been avoiding the team?" Clint asked once more.

"I haven't been avoiding anyone… I've been busy." Gunnar lied.

"Come on Spangles, that's the best lie you've got?" Clint smirked.

"What do you want me to say? Ask Hill. She hasn't given me any time off. The only time I'm getting to myself is when I'm in this bunk sleeping. Besides, with Steve gone, I'm not really a part of the team anymore. I've been assigned here." He explained.

"Excuses." He stated. "You'll always be part of the team, even if you don't believe it."

Gunnar just stared back at him but kept silent.

"The other reason I came in here is to tell you that you have been reassigned temporarily." Clint said.

"Again? To where?" Gunnar asked.

"With me." He said.

"Does this mean...?" He asked hopefully.

"You're back on active duty." He replied. "Pack your bags. You're coming with me." Clint threw the file he was holding across the room and it landed perfectly on his lap.

Gunnar quickly packed the single bag he had brought with him and suited up. He boarded the quinjet and sat in the co-pilot's seat to read the file and waited for Clint to take off.

"So this girl who went missing, she's the daughter of a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent?" Gunnar asked.

"We're meeting a team. They already started looking for here. Clint explained. "We need you to track her."

"And what if I can't? What if it doesn't work" Gunnar asked.

"We'll cross that road when it comes to it. We need all the help we can get right now."

"I'll try. So where are we going?" He asked.

"Austria." Clint answered. "Hope you packed something warm."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**Thank you for everyone who started following this story! Here's the next part. Enjoy!

Meanwhile in Washington DC:

The sun was starting to rise as Steve made his routine morning jog around the Washington Monuments.

"On your left." Steve said as he passed another runner.

This had become his routine. Missions and training. He wasn't left with much time to himself. But, when he did have a moment to breath, he thought about the people he cared about. Peggy, Agent Wells and the other Avengers.

He lapped the same runner again not long after the first time. "On your left." He said again.

The other guy said "Uhuh, on my left. Got it." As Steve passed ahead.

He saw the other guy pick up his pace as he was about to pass him for the third time. "Don't say it! Come on!" He yelled. The other runner said. But he was no match for Captain America.

The other guy was leaning up against a tree breathing hard when Steve came up to him. "Need a medic?" He asked.

The guy just laughed and said "I need a new set of lungs. Dude, you just ran like 13 miles in 30 minutes."

"I guess I got a late start." Captain replied.

"Really? You should be ashamed of yourself. Go take another lap. Did you take it? I assume you just took it." He said with dry sarcasm.

"Sam Wilson." The other guy introduced himself as. He was an ex Air Force Para rescuer working down at the VA hospital.

"Steve Rogers." He said lending him a hand and pulled Sam up off the grass.

"I put that together." He replied. "Musta freaked you out after coming home after the whole defrosting thing."

"It takes some getting used to. It's good to meet you Sam."

It was nice to meet another man who understood the reality of coming home after being deployed.

Natasha pulled up to the curb in a dark colored car.

"Hey, fellas. Either one of you know where the Smithsonian is? I'm here to pick up a fossil." She asked.

"That's hilarious." He said as he got in the passenger side.

Can't run everywhere!" Steve said out the window.

"No you can't." Sam replied checking Natasha out. Then they sped off.

As they drove Steve asked if she had heard from Gunnar.

"No, he hasn't talked to me or anyone for that matter. But word is that he's on a mission with Barton right now." She told him. "At least you know he's safe with him."

"Yeah well I'd rather for us to be together so I could keep an eye out on him." He spoke.

10 hours later in remote Austria:

Gunnar was stretched out in an ungentlemanly position across his seat.

"These are the exact last known coordinates. You think you could pick up her scent?" Clint said holding up a screen.

"Maybe. It might be faint. There's a lot of smells in this forest that could make it harder. I'm going to need to turn. I can smell a lot better as a dog." He replied.

"That's what I thought. We'll be right behind you."

"As long as you can keep up." He said arrogantly.

"I'm sure I can." Clint smirked.

Gunnar changed into dog form and walked off the jet's ramp into the woods. Clint had his weapon ready and rallied up the other agents who had already arrived.

Gunnar looked around him and sniffed the air several times. Then he barked at Clint and took off at a decent pace. He was trying to not run too fast. Clint and the others were doing well at keeping up. They ran until Gunnar stopped at a clearing.

Meanwhile back in Washington DC:

Steve and Natasha had just completed a mission saving S.H.I.E.L.D. hostages on a ship. Natasha had jeopardized the mission by backing up the files on the mainframe and Steve was less than thrilled that he hadn't been informed.

At the Triskelion S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Director Fury was having a discussion with Steve about the lack of knowledge he had been given about the mission.

"I'm not obliged to do anything." Fury said sitting at his desk.

"Those hostages could have died." He responded walking closer.

"I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen." He replied.

"Soldiers trust each other. That's what makes it an Army, not a bunch of guys running around with guns." He replied coldly.

"Last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." He said. "Don't tell me this is about Agent Wells. Agent Coulson reported to me what happened."

"Respectfully, he made the wrong call." Steve said. "Agent Wells wouldn't have lied to me if he had been there."

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody knows all the secrets." Fury explained.

"Except you." He said.

"You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." Fury stated.

Meanwhile in Austria:

They searched and cleared around the old building they had come across. Gunnar turned back into his human form to report his findings.

"I think she's in here!" Gunnar said and motioned Clint to follow him. The other agents quietly surrounded the building.

As they entered they saw one of the walls had the HYDRA logo on it. The paint was worn and chipped.

"I think it's an old HYDRA safe house. It's not big enough to be a base. I don't think an actual operation was going on here. Might have been storage or somewhere to hide." Gunnar explained.

They came to a locked room and Clint busted it down with his weapon ready.

"Damnit." Clint swore. He saw Quinn, the child they were looking for, limp on a stainless steel table. The smell was horrific and Gunnar had to get out because it was overwhelming.

The other agents took over and Clint walked outside and saw Gunnar pacing.

"I couldn't get to her in time." Gunnar said breathing hard putting his hands up against the side of the building and leaning over.

"We can't save everyone." Clint replied.

"She was a child!" Gunnar yelled back. "It's just like when... nevermind."

"I know…we'll get the people that did this to her." Clint reassured him.

"Your damn right we will." He growled.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thank you A Shieldmaiden of Rohan and Qweb for reviewing! You guys are awesome. I hope I live up to your expectations. Here's the next part.

Washington D.C.:

Steve was wandering around the Smithsonian looking at the Captain America exhibit in his ball cap and dark jacket. A young boy spotted him and Steve put a finger over his mouth in a hushing motion.

He walked up to the giant picture of Bucky and listened to the narration.

"Barnes is the only howling commando to give his life in service of his country." The narrator spoke.

_2 hours later_:

He was sitting on Peggy's bedside. Her grey curly hair was in perfect curls.

"I thought I could serve again. But it's not the same." He said.

"The world has changed. None of us can go back." She said.

She then became confused and started crying.

"Steve you came back. It's been so long." She choked up.

"I couldn't leave my best girl. Not when she owed me a dance." He replied softly as his eyes welled up.

At the VA Hospital:

Steve stood outside the doorway of the veterans meeting that Sam was leading.

"It's the running man!" Sam said as Steve walked up to him.

"I caught the last few minutes. Heavy stuff." Steve replied.

"Guilt…regret." He said.

"Did you lose someone?" Steve asked.

"My wingman. Flying a night mission. Standard rescue op. Nothing we hadn't done a thousand times before. Til' an RPG knocked Riley's dumb ass out of the sky. Nothing I could do. It's like I was up there just to watch." He told him.

"I'm sorry." Steve replied sympathetically.

"After that, I had a really hard time finding a reason for being over there, you know?" Sam responded.

"But your happy now? Back in the world." Steve asked.

"The number of people giving me orders is about down to zero. So hell yeah." He said looking around. "You thinking about getting out?"

"No... I don't know. To be honest I don't know what I would do with myself if I did."

"Ultimate fighting?" He laughed. "Just a great idea off the top of my head. Seriously, you could do whatever you want to do. What makes you happy?"

"I don't know." Steve ended.

Steve was about to enter his apartment when the cute neighbor across the hallway told him he left his stereo on. He slowly walked through the door and grabbed his shield for protection. He saw Fury sitting in the dark with music blaring. "I don't remember giving you a key." He stated.

**"**You really think I'd need one? My wife kicked me out." Fury said.

**"**Didn't know you were married." He replied.

**"**There are a lot of things you don't about me."

**"**I know, Nick. That's the problem."

Fury indicates for him to be silent, he turns off the light and writes something on his phone and shows it to Steve: "ears everywhere".

**"**I'm sorry to have do this, but I had no place else to crash."

He wrote another text and shows it to Steve: "SHIELD compromised".

**"**Who else knows about your wife?" He asked.

Fury shows him another text: "You and me." "Just...my friends." He replied.  
**"**Is that what we are?" He asked.

**"**That's up to you."

Suddenly bullets rip through the wall and Fury is shot three times from through the window and collapses, Steve looks out the window for the shooter then he quickly drags Fury to the next room, before he leaves Fury hands him a flash drive.

"Don't...trust anyone." Are the last words Fury says to him.

At the hospital:

"Is he gonna make it?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know." Steve replied.

"Tell me about the shooter." She said.

"He was fast and strong. Had a metal arm." He replied.

Fury's condition deteriorates and the hospital staff tries to resuscitate him.

"Don't do this to me, Nick. Don't do this to me." She said quietly.

"Time of death, 1:03 A.M." The doctor announced.

Later at Headquarters:

"Captain, why was Nick in your apartment last night?" Alexander Pierce asked.  
**"**I don't know." Steve replied.

**"**You know it was bugged?" He asked.

**"**I did, because Nick told me." Steve answered.

**"**Did he tell you he was the one who bugged it?" Peirce asked.

"See, I took a seat on the Council not because I wanted to but because Nick asked me to, because we were both realists. We knew that despite all the diplomacy and the handshaking and the rhetoric, that to build a really better world sometimes means having to tear the old one down. And that makes enemies. Those people that call you dirty because you got the guts to stick your hands in the mud and try to build something better. And the idea that those people could be happy today, makes me really, really angry." Pierce lectured. "Captain, you were the last one to see Nick alive. I don't think that's an accident, and I don't think you do either. So I'm gonna ask again, why was he there?"

**"**He told me not to trust anyone." Steve replied.

**"**I wonder if that included him."

" I'm sorry. Those were his last words. Excuse me."  
**"**Captain."

"Somebody murdered my friend and I'm gonna find out why. Anyone gets in my way, they're gonna regret it. Anyone."

**"**Understood." Steve replied and then walked out.

Meanwhile on the quinjet over classified airspace:

"Barton." Clint answered his phone through his earpiece. "Are you sure? When did it happen? Alright. Thanks for telling me."

"Wells. Wake up." Clint said loudly.

"What's happening?" He jerked and sat up.

"Can you go back there and get my water bottle from my pack on the seat?"

"Sure." He said standing up and walking back.

"It should be in the main pocket, you might have to dig around. Thanks."

He opened up the bag and rifled through it. "Clint, I don't see it. Are you sure it's in here?"

Then he felt a sharp price on his side. He looked up at Clint who was holding a tranquilizer gun worthy of the Hulk.

"What the hell?" He said.

"Sorry partner. I couldn't risk it."

Those were the last words Gunnar heard before he slumped over and blacked out.

Meanwhile in Washington D.C.:

"Drop the shield! Put your hands in the air!"

**"**Give it up, Rogers! Get that door open! You have nowhere to go!"

**"**Are you kidding me?" Agent Sitwell said. "He's headed for the garage. Lock down the bridge!"

"Stand down, Captain Rogers. Stand down." They ordered. "Repeat, stand down."

Steve didn't stop they start shooting at him, Steve threw his shield into the propellers to jam it, which gave him an opportunity to hop onto it and do more damage to the jet with his shield then jumped as the jet crashed down and he escaped.

_A little while later_:

"I know who killed Fury. Most of the intelligence community doesn't believe he exists, the ones who do call him the Winter Soldier. He's credited with over two dozen assassinations in the last fifty years." Natasha explained.

"So he's a ghost story."

**"**Five years ago I was escorting a nuclear engineer out of Iran, somebody shot at my tires near Odessa. We lost control, went straight over a cliff, I pulled us out, but the Winter Soldier was there. I was covering my engineer, so he shot him straight through me." She answered. "Going after him is a dead end. I know, I've tried."

**"**Like you said, he's a ghost story." She added.

"Well, let's find out what the ghost wants." He said with determination.

At the mall:

**"**First rule of going on the run is, don't run, walk."

**"**If I run in these shoes, they're gonna fall off." He replied sarcastically as they headed to Apple store to use one of their computers.

**"**The drive has a level six homing program, so as soon as we boot up, SHIELD will know exactly where we are."

**"**How much time do we have?" He asked.

"Uh...about nine minutes from...Now." She replied.

Fury was right about that ship, somebody's trying to hide something. This drive is protected by some sort of AI, it keeps rewriting itself to counter my commands."

**"**Can you override it?" He asked looking around.

**"**The person who developed this is slightly smarter than me. Slightly." She replied.

"You said nine minutes, come on." He hurried.

**"**Shh, relax. Got it." She whispered. **"**Wheaton, NJ. You know it?"

"I used to. Let's go."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Thank you everyone for your support. Qweb, I was afraid of that actually. So I decided to take your advice and beef up the Gunnar parts and subdue the retelling as much as possible. It's very tricky to find the balance without leaving plot holes. I know most of you have seen the movie so that helps. Thank you for giving me cconstructive criticism and making me a better writer. I'm sorry it's been a few days but my mom came to visit and I'm also taking a full load of college classes. My schedule has been busy.

A classified location:

Gunnar woke up feeling groggy and his vision was slightly blurry. He tried to lift his arms but he was tied down. This seemed to happen a lot to him.

"Barton!" he panicked as he started remembering what had happened.

"Sorry I had to do that." He replied coming into the room.

"Why did you do this? What's going on?" He said breathing a little harder than usual.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has been compromised. Fury is dead."

"What? How is that possible? Where's Steve? Where's Coulson?" He started spewing out. "Do you think I have something to do with it? I don't know anything, Clint. I've been in the dark."

"Calm down. I know. You have been cleared. I just couldn't let you see where we were going until I could clear you." He said untying his restraints.

"How do I know you aren't compromised?" He asked and Clint just stared at him.

"Right…" He said quietly.

"You know, that's the second time you have tranquilized and tied me down. This seems to be a reoccurring part of our relationship and I'm not sure if I like it." He joked.

"First one was on you. This one... my bad." He agreed.

"We have to stay here until we figure something out. Steve and Natasha have been deemed fugitives." He explained.

"I need to get to him, Clint. We can't just leave them to fight for themselves. I need to get out of here." He said quickly.

"You can't. They can take care of each other. Don't worry." He replied.

"They are completely out numbered. We need to help them." He shot back.

"It's a huge mess. We need to stay low for a while. It's the best thing we can do."

"What about everyone else? Tony? Bruce? Pepper? We need to make sure they are safe too." He rushed.

"They're safe for now. They aren't the targets as of now." He replied.

"Where are we exactly?" He asked.

"It's above your pay grade, Wells." Clint answered." You want something to eat?"

"I'm not really that hungry. I just need to get out of here." He replied but his mind was somewhere else.

"We're staying. That's an order." He stated firmly.

"I'll round some food up. You need to eat." He said standing up.

"Is that an order too?" Gunnar said sarcastically.

Somewhere on the road to New Jersey:

"Where did Captain America learn how to steal a car?"

**"**Nazi Germany." He replied.

**"**Mmm." She hummed.

"And we're borrowing. Take your feet off the dash."

"I warned Barton and Wells." She said after some silence.

"Are they okay?" He asked with slight worry.

"As far as I know. They fount the little girl that had been abducted." She said.

"Alive?" He asked.

"She's dead." She answered. "Wells and Barton were leading the investigation."

"Great, just what he needed." He mumbled.

"He's strong, Steve. He knows how to handle himself. You and Coulson trained him that way." She replied without emotion.

"I hope you're right. He's sensitive when it comes failing to rescue people." He quietly said. "Lena, Ava... the list goes on."

"You know Ava was an accident, and Lena... well, not everyone can be saved."

"I know." He ended.

They pulled up to the abandoned military base. "This is it?" He asked.

**"**The file came from these coordinates." She confirmed.

**"**So did I. This is the camp I was trained at."

**"**Changed much?" she asked.

**"**A little." He replied.

"This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off." She said.

** "**Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place." He walked over to it.

"This is S.H.I.E.L.D." She realized.

"Maybe where it started." He added as they entered.

"This can't be the data-point, this technology is ancient." Suddenly Natasha notices a small flash drive port, she places the flash drive in it which then activates the ancient computer.

**"**Initiate system?" the computer asked.

**"**Y-E-S, spells yes." She typed.

**"**Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984." The computer started talking.

**"**It's some kind of a recording."

**"**I am not a recording, Fräulein. I may not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." The computer screen shows an old photo of Dr. Arnim Zola.

**"**How did you get here?" Steve asked.

**"**Invited."

**"**It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic values." She explained.

**"**They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own." Zola replied.

**"**HYDRA died with the Red Skull." Steve stated.

**"**Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."

**" **Prove it." He demanded.

**"**Accessing archive. HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

"That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you." She said.

"Accidents will happen. HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life; a zero sum." Steve smashed the screen.

**"**As I was saying..." He continued.

"What's on this drive?" He said.

**"**Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm." Zola replied.

**"**Steve, I got a bogey. Short-range ballistic. Thirty seconds, tops." She said urgently.

**"**Who fired it?" He asked.

**"**S.H.I.E.L.D."

I am afraid I have been stalling, it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time."

Steve noticed a small opening on the ground, he threw the metal door aside and just as the place exploded as he threw himself and Natasha into the whole and protected them with his shield, he them managed to get them out from under the building rubble just as STRIKE agents arrived to roam the area for them.

Meanwhile in the classified safe house:

Gunnar was walking around the bunker trying to figure out where he could possibly escape. The problem was he didn't know where he was and he didn't exactly have a vehicle. They had gone completely off the grid. All of the tracking devices had been destroyed by Clint while he was sleeping. There were no computers or phones. He had to get to Steve. He looked around for Clint but it was a fairly large place so he must had been in another room down the hallway.

"Looking for something?" Clint asked as he appeared.

"Just exploring. Seeing if we missed anything." He lied.

"Sure…" Clint said suspiciously. "So then you don't mind if I stay here until you finish?" He asked.

"Go ahead." Gunnar said not backing down.

_Later that night_:

We should probably take shifts sleeping. Just in case someone finds this place." Clint said.

"I'll take first watch." Gunnar volunteered. "I got some sleep earlier when you shot me."

Clint replied after a minute. "Alright. 4 hour shifts."

"Got it boss." He answered.

"Don't do anything dumb." He added before lying down on a bunk.

Gunnar ignored his comment and went into the main room. He pulled up a seat and looked over at what probably was the entrance. He assumed they were below ground but without windows, it was hard to judge. He settled back into his chair and put his hand on his side arm, trying to devise an escape plan in his head.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: I haven't heard much feedback from any of my followers. It would be nice to get some more. Anyway, thank you everyone for the support and I hope you enjoy it! This is the longest chapter yet and where the two story lines interconnect. It might be a little rough but I did a lot of editing.

The next morning in Washington D.C.:

Sam Wilson's door rang and he answered it. "Hey, man."

"I'm sorry about this. We need a place to lay low." He said.

"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Natasha added.  
"Not everyone." Sam said as he let them in.

"You okay?" Steve asked concerned.

"Yeah." She replied.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"When I first joined SHIELD, I thought it was going straight. But I guess I just traded in the KGB for HYDRA. I thought I knew whose lies I was telling, but...I guess I can't tell the difference anymore."

"There's a chance you might be in the wrong business." He smiled.

"I made breakfast. If you guys...eat that sort of thing." Sam interjected.

"So, the question is: who in SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Natasha asked.

"Pierce." Steve answered.

"Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"But he's not working alone; Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

"So was Jasper Sitwell." She said.

"So, the real question is: how do the two most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?"  
"The answer is: you don't." Sam said as he dropped a file on the table.

"What's this?"

"Call it a resume." He replied.

**"**I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPGs. What did you use, a stealth chute?"

**"**No. These." Sam said as he showed them a picture.

"I thought you said you're a pilot."

**"**I never said a pilot."

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason." Steve replied.

**"**Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

Meanwhile in the safe house:

Gunnar was on his second shift and decided that he needed to get out of there. He snooped around quietly and opened some boxes from under the sink in the kitchen. He lifted a lid and found old maps and blueprints.

"This can't be right." He said to himself. The map was showing that it was underneath the Avengers tower. "That's why it didn't look like a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house..." He pulled out his gun, went over to the entrance and yanked the large handle open. He shut the heavy door behind him which caused a loud bang. He knew Clint would be awake after that. He ran down the long hallway and went up the stairs following the map. He then walked down another hallway, and opened a door and it was led into the back of what looked like a janitor's closet. He opened it up and found that he was on one of the research floors. He shut it and ran over to the elevator and pressed the number for the pent house. As the elevator door shut he saw a glimpse of Clint opening up the janitor door on the other side of the room he had just come out of. A pad appeared and he typed in his personal code. As soon as he reached the living room, he jumped off the elevator and ran into his room.

"Gunnar! Where the hell have you been? You haven't talked to anyone and we have all been worried." Pepper appeared and she had a shocked look on her face.

"I'm sure it broke Tony's heart." He said sarcastically.

"Don't ever do that to us again! You hear me?" She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him in for a hug.

"Pepper, I have to get out of here. Clint is on his way up and I have to get out." He replied pulling away.

"Why? What's going on? Tony has this place on lock down. I'm surprised your code worked."

"No time to explain. Can I have a car?" He asked.

"Take mine. It's less inconspicuous." She said and handed him keys from her purse. He didn't have time to complain about the white Mini Cooper, but at least it had a turbo engine.

"Don't tell Clint you saw me." He said as the elevator door dinged.

"Damn. He's here. Thank you. I promise I'll be back when all of this is over." He said quickly and ran down the hall to the back stair well. Pepper would distract him just long enough to leave.

He made it down to the garage and took off in her car. He was heading to Washington D.C. to Steve and Natasha. He wasn't sure exactly where they were but he would start with headquarters.

Later that day in Washington D.C.:

"Listen, I gotta fly home tonight, cause uh...I got some constituency problem, and I gotta press the flesh." Senator Stern said.

"That's a nice pin." Stern commented.

**"**Thank you."

**"**Come here." Stern opened his arms for a hug. **"**Hail, HYDRA." He whispered into Sitwell's ear.

_A few minutes later:_

**"**I need a minute. Bring the car around." Sitwell said and then answered the phone.

**"**Yes, sir." He stated.

**"**Agent Sitwell, how was lunch? I hear the crab cakes here are delicious." Sam asked.

**"**Who is this?" He asked.

**"**The good looking guy in the sunglasses, your ten o'clock." He tells him. "Your other ten o'clock. There you go."

**"**What do you want?" Sitwell said in a low tone.

"You're gonna go around the corner, to your right. There's a grey car, two spaces down.

"You and I are gonna take a ride." Sam instructed.

"And why would I do that?"

**"**Because that tie looks really expensive, and I'd hate to mess it up." He said and Sitwell saw a small red light from the gun being pointed at him.

A few minutes later:

"Tell me about Zola's algorithm." Steve demanded at Sitwell on the rooftop.

"Never heard of it. Is this little display meant to insinuate that you can throw me off the roof? Cause it's really not your style, Rogers." He smiled.

**"**You're right. It's not. It's hers." He admitted then stepped aside and let Natasha kick him of the roof.

Suddenly, Sam, in his Falcon jet-pack suit with wings, flew up holding Sitwell and threw him down on the roof.

**"**Zola's algorithm is a program...for choosing Insight's targets!" Sitwell sputtered.

**"**What targets?" he asked.

**"**You! A TV anchor in Cairo, the Undersecretary of Defense, a high school valedictorian in Iowa city. Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, your little dog buddy... anyone who's a threat to HYDRA! Now, or in the future." Sitwell replied.

**"**The Future? How could it know?" Steve asked.

**"**How could it not? The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it." He laughed. "Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, e-mails, phone calls, your damn SAT scores. Zola's algorithm evaluates peoples' past to predict their future."

**"**And what then?"

"Oh, my God. Pierce is gonna kill me."

**"**What then?!" Steve exclaimed.

**"**Then the Insight Helicarriers scratch people off the list. A few millions at a time. HYDRA doesn't like leaks."

**"**So why don't you try sticking a cork in it." Sam commented.

"Insight's launching in sixteen hours, we're cutting it a little bit close here." Sitwell said.

**"**I know. We'll use him to bypass the DNA scans and access the Helicarriers directly." Steve said.

"What?! Are you crazy? That is a terrible, terrible idea." He said and then suddenly the Winter Soldier landed on the car roof, pulling Sitwell out through the window and throwing him into the oncoming traffic, killing him, then starts shooting at them until Steve pulled the break handle making the Winter Soldier drop down onto the street, as another car smashed into the trio's car and pushed them along, the Winter Soldier jumped back onto their car, and smashed through the windscreen and pulls out the steering wheel.

Meanwhile a few blocks down the road:

Gunnar was driving into town when a call from Tony popped up on the screen. He accepted it. "Thanks for stopping by and not saying hi, Marley. I appreciate it."

"Hey Tony. I'm a little busy trying to find our Captain and Spider." He retorted.

"They're about 5 blocks away from you right now. Take a left, go down a couple blocks and then take a right. You'll see them." He explained. "Be careful." Then the call was over. Gunnar pulled over, got out and turned into a dog in the alleyway. He took off down the street in that direction.

"Shit!" Sam exclaimed. Natasha started shooting at him but the Winter Soldier jumped onto the vehicle behind them, as the trio's car is being pulled off the road Steve holding on to the car door.

"Hang on!" Steve yelled. He broke open the door, held onto Natasha and Sam as they slid on the car door through the streets. The Winter Soldier is joined by HYDRA agents and they start shooting at them, the trio scattered and ran off in different directions with the Winter Soldier shooting at Natasha but she managed to shoot him in his eye goggle mask and run.

**"**I'll take care of her. Find him." The Winter soldier stated.

**"**Go, I got this!" Sam said to Steve.

** "**Get out of the way! Stay out of the way!" Natasha yelled and then she was shot in the shoulder and fell to the ground. Gunnar saw this and ran out into middle of the commotion towards her, taking out another agent along the way.

"Gunnar?" she said confused and feeling light headed. He stood in front of her growling to try and protect her from the man coming towards them.

As the Winter Soldier came towards them to execute them, Steve jumped in and attacked him. Gunnar dragged Natasha a few yards back behind a car. They fought and in the process the Winter Soldier took Steve's shield and threw it at him but Steve managed to avoid being hit. After battling it out more the Winter Soldier's mask came off. As he looked around at Steve who learned the true identity of the Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes.

**"**Bucky?..." Steve said dumbfounded.

**"**Who the hell is Bucky?" He said.

As Bucky lifted his gun to shoot at Steve, Sam flew in and threw Steve aside. Gunnar ran up to him making sure he was okay. Bucky threw a bomb at Steve and ran off, Steve deflected the bomb with his shield as it exploded protecting himself and Gunnar. Then the 4 of them heard sirens after which they became surrounded by HYDRA agents.

"Drop the shield, Captain! On your knees! Get on your knees! Now! Get down! Get down!" Rumlow shouted and Steve held his hands up.

**"**Get on your knees! Down!" and Rumlow kicked his knees.** "**Don't move."

Steve looked over at Gunnar and one of the Agents had him in a head lock with a gun to his temple. "What about the mutt? The agent asked.

**"**Bring him, and put the gun down. Not here. Not here!"

**"**It was him. He looked right at me and he didn't even know me." Steve said as they were being escorted to the van.

**"**How's that even possible? It was like seventy years ago." Sam said. "And where did he come from?" He said eyes pointed at Agent Wells.

**"**Zola. Bucky's whole unit was captured in '43, Zola experimented on 'em. Whatever he did, it helped Bucky survive the fall. They must have found him. That's Well's. He's my partner."

**"**None of that's your fault, Steve." She said.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky." Gunnar heard that and put his ears down.

"We need to get a doctor here. We don't put pressure on that wound she's gonna bleed out here in the truck." Sam said when he saw Natasha's wound. Suddenly one of the guards pulls out an electric rod and neutralized the other guard and knocked him out. The guard took off her helmet and revealed that it was Hill.

"That thing was squeezing my brain." She said. "Who's this guy? Gunnar what are you doing here? I thought you were with Clint?"

Rumlow's crew went over to the van holding Steve, Gunnar, Sam and Natasha and they opened the door to find it empty with one of the guards left unconscious and massive burnt whole on the car floor.


End file.
